A six-game losing streak is now a thing of the past after Arizona State beat Kansas State 66-54 on Sunday in a game it trailed for only 29 seconds.
Jayden Quaintance was a huge catalyst in building up the lead, approaching a career-high scoring day before he went down with an apparent knee injury on a drive with 4:47 remaining in the game.
He did not return and finished with 18 points (8-for-11 shooting), one away from matching his high mark, hitting his first two 3s of the game after he was 4-for-28 (14.3%) over the first 23 games. He added a block and two steals.
Head coach Bobby Hurley had shut down Quaintance for the second half of the previous game after determining he had not recovered as much from an ankle injury as initially thought. The freshman benefitted from it, looking exceptional before he went down.
The Sun Devils started by making six of their first eight shots, including two 3s, while holding K-State to a 4-for-12 start.
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ASU (13-14, 4-12) was calculated in determining which 3s to fire off, leading to a strong 9-for-25 shooting performance. Freshman Amier Ali stepped up to hit a game-high three 3s. The Wildcats were just 19.2% from deep.
Kansas State (13-14, 7-9) had its best shot at making a game of it with a 9-3 run to end the first half that cut its deficit from 12 to six, but the Sun Devils responded well with an 11-2 run out of the locker room with Quaintance scoring four of the first seven points.
The defense stood out for ASU, forcing 10 first-half turnovers and holding the Wildcats to a 5:33 field goal drought ahead of their 9-3 run.
In the second half, K-State had a stretch where it made just one bucket out of 17 as the ASU lead ballooned as high as 21. It was the fourth conference game out of 16 where ASU held a lead larger than 10 at any point in the game.
Both teams played without key contributors, as ASU played its first game without BJ Freeman, who is no longer with the team due to detrimental conduct. Kansas State, meanwhile, played without Coleman Hawkins (deep bone bruise), who has been the Wildcats’ engine in many facets this season.
While the losing streak is over, ASU has still lost its last seven home games. That streak will be put to the test when the Sun Devils host BYU on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MST, which can be heard on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app or online.
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